‘It’s a good start’: prominent Israelis welcome UK sanctions on illegal settlements

Prominent Israelis have welcomed new UK sanctions as a necessary response to settlement expansion and spiralling violence in the occupied West Bank. The intervention was described – by the president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, a former prime minister, an ex-head of the army and former ministers and diplomats – as an “inevitable consequence” of Israeli government and security failures. It was the most significant attempt in many years, from a close Israeli ally, to leverage economic power to force change in the occupied West Bank.

The impact was multiplied when France and Canada announced plans for trade bans on settlement goods and 10 other European countries backed similar measures. Nor did any senior figure in the Trump administration, which was briefed in advance on the UK plans, criticise the measures. All leading candidates in the upcoming election reject a Palestinian state.

However, there is increasingly vocal opposition to settler violence and expansion from some members of the country’s security, political and cultural elites. They threatened legal action against their government this summer over its support for Jewish terrorism and an “ideology of ethnic cleansing” in the occupied West Bank. Prof David Harel, British-born president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, is among those who signed a statement backing the UK measures.

He said the sanctions offered urgently needed support for Israelis like him, who are trying to stop attacks on Palestinians and end the occupation. For that reason, I’m against general wall-to-wall boycott, divest, sanction-style sanctions on the state of Israel,” the leading scientist told the Guardian. It’s not that we’re doing these poor people a favour.

We’re doing a favour to ourselves, no less, maybe even more.” The joint statement backing the UK sanctions was also signed by former prime minister Ehud Olmert, former commander of the Israeli military Dan Halutz, former ministers Yuli Tamir and Roni Bar-On and former ambassador to Germany Yoram Ben Zeev. Nadav Tamir, a former diplomat, also described the measures as good for Israel. However, plans to place sanctions on any company that finances or facilitates settlement expansion could force Israel’s main banks and insurance companies to choose between their business interests in the UK and those in occupied Palestine.

Miliband has not provided details of the new measures but the move has the potential to slow or stop construction. Avraham Burg, a former speaker of the Knesset, thanked Miliband for setting a global example. But Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, attacked Miliband for “blatant interference” in his country’s domestic affairs before a late October election.